Winter birds

 

I gave a hundred valentines.

A hundred did I say?

I gave a thousand valentines

One cold and wintery day.

I didn't put my name on them,

Or any other words

Because my valentines were seeds

For February birds!

 A few weeks ago we noticed a squirrel hanging upside down from a tree branch finishing off the suet from a feeder that had been left unattended by the birds. The children thought that we should put out some more seed for the birds after the naughty squirrel ate it all. So we did and the birds came. We have been talking about the different birds that have visited and have added work to the science shelf about the parts of a bird.

We have two feeders hanging now in prime viewing locations for bird watching. The grapefruit feeder below was made today and the inspiration came from my cousin Erin's blog readingmytealeaves.com. 

The chickadees took turns visiting the feeder this afternoon.

The squirrel is planning his next move.

Eggcellent

 Today we made egg salad for snack. I love food preparation work because there are so many skills practiced together. Like the other practical life works, food preparation work aims to build independence, coordination, concentration, and order. The work is set up with the materials carefully prepared for a child to independently follow a sequence of steps that require coordination of movement and concentration on the task. Food preparation work also extends into the language and mathematics curriculums. 

Each day the quantity and names of ingredients for snack are written on the snack board. A visual cue is also drawn, so if a child can't read the word he/she can "read" the numeral and the visual cue instead. I also often include recipe cards. I use the "Cookin' Cards"  by Montessori Services. Each card has one step to the recipe, both written and simply illustrated. I also make my own recipe cards based on the style of the "Cookin' Cards".

Two trays were set up on the snack shelf and the materials for each step were arranged on the trays from left to right. The first tray (pictured below) contained a cutting board, an egg cup, and a bowl for the shell. The second tray (pictured above) contained a container of lite mayonnaise, a scoop for measuring the mayonnaise, and a bowl for mixing.

First a child got an egg from the carton. Then he cracked the shell and peeled off the shell.  

Next the child chopped the egg (not pictured). This friend decided to do further chopping with the spoon after deciding that the pieces were too big once he put them in the mixing bowl. 

Then the child mixes in a scoop of mayonnaise.

Finally, the egg salad is ready to enjoy! Each child then put the egg salad on his/her plate and used crackers to scoop up the egg salad or made little egg salad sandwiches. 

New Year

"Only through freedom of experience is it possible for human development to occur."- Maria Montessori

The prepared environment of the Montessori classroom is tended to with great care  It is essential to a child's development. Dr. Montessori observed that the child's environment greatly effects how he/she learns. The Montessori classroom environment meets the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of each child. The classroom environment is regularly maintained, but it was so lovely to come back to the classroom in the new year with everything fresh, beautifully organized, and new once again. This feeling was evident amongst the children as they came into their familiar classroom after the break. A calm and peace was observed as the children chose their work for the morning. 

The peace place gives children a place to go when they need time to alone, need some inner quiet, a break from classroom work or need a soothing place to go.

 The care of environment materials allow the children to develop coordination, concentration, a sense of order and independence. Taking care of their environment also helps to develop a sense of responsibility to the community and a respect for the classroom environment.

 The practical life area of the classroom is the core of the Montessori curriculum. Through the practical life materials a child learns coordination, concentration, independence, and order.

 The snack area is placed next to the practical life area of the classroom because the work of practical life extends into care of self. The snack area is set up so that the children can independently prepare and serve themselves snack and clean up after so the table is ready for the next child.

 The Sensorial materials are organized by the sense that the material isolates. The materials are further sequenced within each sense.

 The language area includes the book nook for quiet reading or reading to/with a friend.

 The math shelves are organized in sequence. The materials of the decimal system and passage to abstraction are not shown in the photo.

 The geography shelves introduce the child to his/her place in the world, then to the properties that make up Earth, to the study of landforms, the continents, biomes and the cultures of the people around the world

Connecting science and cultural units to the practical life area

"I climbed up the apple tree
 All the apples fell on me
 Apple pudding
 Apple pie
 That was very good
 Oh my!"

The last few weeks we have been studying apples. We sang apples songs, talked about the parts of apples, and learned about Johnny Appleseed. Most of our cultural and science units are carried throughout all curriculum areas. While we were studying apples, the practical life area of the classroom had beautiful apple bowls, apples for scooping, and apples for stirring. Here's a glimpse of the the practical life shelves.

There are three practical life shelves. The shelf pictured  to the left is for pouring, scooping, and squeezing activities. The next shelf pictured below is for twisting activities, sewing and threading, and care of self. The third shelf is for care of the environment; sweeping, plant watering, window washing, etc. (sorry no photo).

The practical life materials aid in the development of coordination, concentration, independence, and order. As with all areas of the curriculum, the materials are carefully prepared to isolate a particular skill, be attractive, complete, and allow a child to work independently.

The materials are arranged on the shelves from left to right and top to bottom by order of the sequence of skills.
                                                                                 A favorite work was using an apple hole punch
to make a "bushel" of tiny construction paper apples to take home. We do love to collect
things! And though we don't realize it we are
also strengthening our hands and developing our fine motor skills in the process.

pom pom squeezing

Another favorite work was using putting pom pom "apples" into individual apple shapes in an apple ice cube tray. This work helps to practice using a pincer grip for writing, while building concentration and a sense of order. One of the tenants of the Montessori philosophy is repetition. Repetition is very important in developing fine motor coordination.

Using the apple cutter with play-do helped us to get ready for food
                                                         preparation with apples. We have already practiced rolling a ball   during prior play-do lessons. After rolling a ball of play-do, a child carefully centers the apple cutter over the play-do and presses down to create perfect "apple" slices.

apple cutter with play-do 

apples with cinnamon recipe

Sitting with a friend; enjoying conversation and the apples with cinnamon that they prepared

                                                                                 

"Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment". - Maria Montessori

We have had a very productive couple of weeks in the primary classroom. At the beginning of the school year we focus on the establishment of the classroom ground rules and grace and courtesy. Lessons in grace and courtesy are presented at circle each day and are practiced throughout the day. The classroom ground rules are simple, easy to understand, and establish boundaries that free the children to accomplish their work successfully. Each ground rule is based on respect: for each other, for the materials, and for the classroom. For example, work must be done at a table or on a mat. The work must be returned to its place on the shelf. The older friends demonstrate how to care for and to walk around other friends work mats. The first formal grace and courtesy lesson is how to interrupt politely. A child must ask politely before joining another friends work or before watching a friends work. We have also talked about how we can all help each other to take care of our classroom. The children take great ownership of their Montessori classroom. At a morning circle the children gave their ideas on how we can be respectful of each other and of the materials. The children's ideas were written on a dry erase board. As the week went on we continued to discuss the list as a group until it became a concise list of three classroom ground rules: be safe, be gentle, and be kind. The older friends are great models for our new friends and we all work together to give kind reminders to those who forget the ground rules from time to time. 

We have begun our cultural studies in the classroom with a lesson on the interdependence of plants and animals on the earth. We talked about how the sun, air, and clouds are gases, the land is solid, and the waters of the earth are liquid. The children have enjoyed using a work with the placement of plants and animals on a beautiful cloth illustration of land, air, and water.

All of the children have been using the Practical Life materials of scooping, squeezing, pouring, sponging, lacing, and twisting. These materials are changed to reflect the theme of the classroom and the needed level of challenge. The materials help the children to develop independence, concentration, coordination, and a sense of order. The care of environment materials and care of self materials are helping the children to be independent and to care for their classroom.

concentrating on lacing work

flower arranging  (care of environment) 

       

practicing sweeping (care of environment)

buttoning frame (care of self)

The Sensorial materials help children to compare, classify, order, and pattern. 

 

Many of the children have also been interested in the math area.

numeration sets boxes association of a specific symbol with the
corresponding numeral set 

work with the golden beads (association of beads to numerals
and work with place value)

numerals and counters (odd and even introduction)

Thank you to the families who have brought snack for the class to share. The children are enjoying the variety of snacks and take great pride in preparing their own snack. The children have enjoyed spreading sun butter, cutting bananas and apples, slicing hard boiled eggs for egg sandwiches, and scooping yogurt and cottage cheese. Snack also gives the children an opportunity to enjoy the company of a friend and practice grace and courtesy. You can ask your child "Who did you have snack with today?" On Friday mornings we have started to cook a snack to share together. We have been talking about apples and John Chapman so we made warm apple cobbler and this past Friday we made brown rice pancakes and learned a pancake song. 

I have heard from some parents that their child(ren) have been singing the new songs that we are learning together in the classroom and at music class with Mr. Andrew. We have sung "Oh Susannah", "You are my Sunshine", and "Peace Like a River". Mr. Andrew has played his guitar, mandolin, and fiddle for us to sing along. We have talked about the parts of the instruments and have talked about how particular notes make us feel: happy or sad. We listened to high notes and low notes on the fiddle. We also practiced singing slow or really fast (and loud). We hope the neighbors enjoy our singing! 

Yoga is a chance for us to stretch, strengthen, and quiet our bodies. Each yoga class begins with the striking of a Tibetan singing bowl. We have talked about the importance of breathing while doing asanas (poses). The children really enjoy the bear and snake breathes. We have been practicing the mountain, star, cat, cow, down dog, and cobra poses. We played yogi says (like Simon Says) and have played creative movement games. Each yoga class ends with relaxation. We lay on our yoga mats and work on making each toe and finger relax, followed by our limbs, back and shoulders, and finally our heads and minds. When the singing bowl sings again we sit up, hold hands in a circle, and send a squeeze around the circle. Finally we offer honor the light within each other by saying "Namaste".

Welcome

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the blog for the primary classroom at Meadowbrook Montessori School. I am hoping that this blog helps to communicate important information about classroom themes, school events, and opportunities to build community at Meadowbrook. I also hope to have discussions about the curriculum that make Montessori a unique educational approach that nurtures a child's intrinsic desire to learn and puts him/her on the path to being to confident, self-motivated learner. One of the best ways to support your child's education is to learn about the Montessori approach, to have conversations with your child about his/her work in the classroom and to practice the Montessori approach at home. Below you will find a video from the Montessori Foundation, Montessori: Planting the Seeds of Learning. 

 Many of you have stopped by this summer to see our beautiful classroom after renovations. I will post photos soon! 

 I am excited for the 2011-1012 school year and look forward to seeing you in the morning!

Enjoy this gorgeous Labor Day!